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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (763831)	7/26/2007 3:22:49 AM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

House committee wants contempt citations for Miers, Bolten By DAVE HELLING The Kansas City Star Posted on Wed, Jul. 25, 2007 kansascity.com The House Judiciary Committee said Wednesday that it had found “serious evidence of wrongdoing” in the 2006 firing of several former U.S. attorneys, including Todd Graves of Missouri. But — to the Democrats’ continuing frustration — the panel’s report admitted a lack of evidence of criminal conduct in the scandal. The Democrats later expressed their anger by recommending, on a party line vote, contempt of Congress citations against a current and a former White House official, claiming their cooperation is essential to learn the full story of the attorneys’ dismissals. “In our system of government, no one is above the law,” Rep. John Conyers, the committee’s chairman, said in a letter to the White House. “This is pathetic,” said White House spokesman Tony Snow. “We have hundreds of hearings that have produced bupkis.” The vote came after Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, issued the report that offers no new evidence in the Graves case, but summarizes previous allegations of possible wrongdoing. Calling the Graves case “rather stark,” the report says: “There is substantial concern that the real reason Mr. Graves was replaced was because he was insufficiently enthusiastic about a controversial lawsuit regarding Missouri’s voter rolls that was pressed by main Justice officials, including Bradley Schlozman (his successor.)” The paragraph refers to a 2005 lawsuit filed by the Justice Department alleging Missouri had failed to properly maintain voter registration rolls. A federal judge later dismissed the case, although it remains on appeal. Graves has said he did not support the lawsuit, because he thought it had little chance of success. About the report, Graves said, “I understand that it is important to get to the bottom of what happened at the top levels of the Department of Justice, but it is just not that important to me anymore.” The report also discounts testimony from Monica Goodling, a former department aide who told the committee Graves was “under investigation” when removed in January 2006. “It is hard to believe that Mr. Graves was fired for that reason … the true actors and their motives remain concealed” in all the firings, the report concludes. The House panel recommended contempt citations against former White House counsel Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten, who has official custody of White House documents. Both refuse to testify or provide documents, claiming executive privilege. Unclear is what happens if the full House approves the contempt citations. Under normal procedure, the citations go to the Justice Department for prosecution, but Wednesday the White House said it would not play a role in that referral. But the administration suggests it cannot be compelled to enforce citations against itself. Tuesday, Senate Judiciary Committee members said a special prosecutor may be needed. The House committee report says obtaining Miers’ and Bolten’s testimony and documents is critical in understanding whether the attorney firings broke civil rights, obstruction of justice or other laws. “Politics appears to have been on the minds of the participants in this process from the very earliest days,” the report says, adding: “Whether such misconduct would be unlawful raises complex issues and would depend on a range of facts not currently known.” It also suggests Justice Department officials, including the attorney general, may have broken the law in their statements to Congress. To reach Dave Helling call 816-234-4656 or email to dhelling@kcstar.com. © 2007 Kansas City Star and wire service sources.